Thirteen – Officially A Teenager

Dear Ethan, this month you celebrated your thirteenth birthday. Thirteen officially a teenager! It only felt like yesterday we were planning to celebrate your first birthday. This year your birthday fell on a bank holiday and we celebrated with family and friends. We also took you to London so you could finally go for a trip on the London Eye. You did worry about it being so high but you were brave when it was our turn to get in a capsule.

Quite a lot has happened to you in this past year. We moved to a new home and we didn’t tell you until the week before as we were worried about how you would handle the change. We wanted to know if the move would actually go ahead. You took it all in your stride. You still ask about our old house but tell us you are happy in this one. Unlike your sister, you didn’t have to change schools. Which I’m so grateful for as you have made positive progress in year eight.

This year you also had to face something we weren’t expecting. I always thought we might have to face an operation in the future. Possibly something teeth related. But this year you caught your finger in the car door. Thankfully there were no broken bones but it resulted in you needing a plastic surgery operation. You had to be knocked out for the operation and it was a big thing for all of us. It was an emotional few days but you were such a superstar.

You are doing well at school and are still very happy there. It feels like you have come on so much this year. You are using more words with us and you like to tell me about your school day now. At Christmas, your teacher put you forward for an award. Your whole class was taken to the Children’s Sports Awards Lunch and you won an award for your progress in sport. It was a surprise to us as your teacher kept it a secret. I keep being told you are good at football but I have been unable to find a club that would fit your needs.

For us parents, it has been quite a hard year. But we were still able to take you on a few adventures. PGL invited us to go on a PGL Family Holiday. We all had an amazing time. You tried many different activities there including archery and canoeing. In the summer holidays, we went to Disneyland Paris. We extended our stay in Paris by also booking a weekend at Les Villages Nature. We also had some Harry Potter adventures. Glamping in a Hagrid-themed hut and visiting the Forbidden Forest Experience.

You still wanted to see Father Christmas this year to tell him want you wanted. You didn’t know but we had to cancel our original plans because of covid. But thankfully I was able to book us into breakfast with Santa at Jimmy’s Farm. I’m sure you will want to see him again this year so I will have to get my thinking cap on.

I’m not sure if you being officially a teenager will change many things over the next year of your life. I don’t think you will be asking me to go out with your friends. Or even have any interest in the latest designer gear. At least I won’t have to worry about where you are late at night. I think there might be some changes in school. Year nine is normally a big year at school. But I don’t really know how that will work for you. As long as you keep smiling and are happy I’m sure we will work it all out.